Avignon (#1)

Arrived last night ... Was in severe danger of falling asleep on TGV and ending up in Marseille - but you can count on the timetable, if it says it will be in Avignon at 20:10, it will be (so I set an alarm for 20:00 and all was well)
Funny thing, getting closer to here I felt I was being watched - looking out the window I see the imposing profile of. Mt Ventoux leering at me - one day, I'll try again
Anyway, off to le petit dejeuner (brekky), then grab hire car and head south - a bientot !
(#1 - in the words of Arnie - "I'll be back" - this is just an enforced stop between 2 modes of transport)

Boring places I've been (see pic)

Alternate caption - close (to Paris) but no cigar
That's right folks, this is the TGV train station at Charles de Gaulle aeroport - not very inspiring - but if it saves me a trip into paris to catch the same train from a station there, I'll take - though the boredom waiting here may kill me first
Notes for the enlightened traveller - Aus credit cards (as long as they have a chip and pin) work in the green ticket machines - so I've already purchased a 'carnet' - book of 10 tickets for the metro (won't need them 'till the return trip, but nothing like being prepared (or as my brother would put it, 'anal' ... Sometimes I do wish I could just go with the flow, but I find mutha nature too unpredictable, as evidenced by recent curve balls she's thrown at me)
Ps. I also get a smug satisfaction at cruising through customs/immigration here, with little more than a nod from the douane (customs) police. :-)
<Next stop, Avignon>

Where's Lawrence ?

(As in TE Lawrence) - plenty of desert have I seen, no camels or such
This 'wing' of the terminal in Abu Dhabi has a large conical mosaic springing from one level below where I am, up to the roof - hard to give a sense of scale with such a small camera (b/berry)
Must leave it there - if I don't get to a loo I'll be doing a Lawrence of Arabia myself, "take no prisoners !"
Next flight hop - 8.5 hours

For the record

That was Roger Federer I saw, heading to a gate, one solitary escort ... Doesn't look impressive from here

And so it begins ....

What was supposed to be 'the Lancaster boys do France and Italy' went a bit askew....
So on the redo, Dom has already had 2 weeks of fun and is currently working in London, I'm at Syd airport waiting for Paris via Abu Dhabi (and thence to Avignon), and dad, one of my best mates, well, I'm gonna try dead hard to get him to Tuscany, Bordeaux next year, even if I have to re-mortgage my soul to the devil
So, watch this space for more broadcasts
Ps ; special mention goes to Outdoor travel, Bright, Victoria (Yvette, Sue, Martyn) - I know I havnt thanked them enough for salvaging/turning a bit of a schmozzle into an escape

Homeward bound

Well, only 1 couple showed up last night for the last group meal - either the rain kept people inside ( wusses ;-) ) or people were just plain knackered - but we had a very nice meal anyway

Well, suitcase in hand/wheels, this is it - I have 4 hours to get to Brussels airport, 1.5 approx will be trains, the rest just mozying and pfaffing around - hopefully they have a nice BA lounge and I can find a quiet corner (or perhaps, a waffle at a cafe)

I could have sworn my jeans fitted better before I left, ditto shorts .... I'm going to have to make another belt hole !!!

Well, this'll be it for a while ... See you on the warm side. :-))

France/Paris-to-Bruges, Day 14

Well, end of the tour - the barge has sailed off, and a few of us have 1 day (me) or more in Bruges

Even better, on arriving at my hotel earlier than 2pm (normal checkin time) and expecting to leave my luggage in a store-room, my room was ready and I was given the key - magic at 9:30am !!

Autumn has hit Belgium today - even I have had to put an extra thermal layer on and tonight there's no way I'm wearing shorts tonight - a few of us have a 'loose plan' on meeting at a central point and having a quiet meal

So, I've wandered around the town, and my brain is finally thinking about the trip home, and worse, work - although my team has made me redundant, I'm sure they'll look forward to having me back so they can take leave, get their breath back ... And I'm sure my manager is lining up something for me <shudder>